Liquid Castile Soap

One of the first mass produced soaps in the world, Castile is traditionally made into a bar soap, and is made entirely from Olive Oil, water, and lye.  Although most Castile soaps today still include a hefty portion of Olive Oil, many Castile recipes include other Vegetable Oils such as Hemp Seed Oil, Coconut Oil, or Sunflower Oil.  These simple, vegetable based soaps produce gentle, all natural bars of soap that are often cornerstones in handmade soapmakers' recipe books.

Our Liquid Castile Soap is made from similar ingredients, but has been liquefied to create an all natural liquid soap base that can be used as is, or included in a wide range of natural formulations.  Unlike most liquid soaps, our Liquid Castile Soap Base contains no chemical preservatives, sulfates, or other synthetic additives, making it one of the gentlest liquid soaps available. 

FromNatureWithLove.com is proud to carry three varieties of all natural, Liquid Castile Soap Base.  Each base is made from a combination of Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Aloe Vera Gel, Water, and Rosemary Oil Extract. 

• Our conventional Liquid Castile Soap is made from conventional ingredients, and has a thin, watery texture, and characteristic aroma of classic castile soap.
• Organic Liquid Castile Soap Base is made with the same recipe as our conventional base.  However, the ingredients and process used to create this base are Certified USDA Organic.
• Our Aloe Castile Shower Gel Base is a unique variation of classic Liquid Castile Soap.  Vegetable Gum/Glycerin Extract, and Jojoba have been added to the recipe to produce a thicker, more gel-like Castile Soap.  This base also carries a slightly lighter natural aroma than classic Liquid Castile Soap, making it easier to scent.  Aloe Castile Shower Gel Base makes an excellent addition to thick scrubs and other formulations where classic Castile would be too thin.

Liquid Castile Soap Bases can be scented with either natural Essential Oils or synthetic Fragrance Oils.  In our experience, Liquid Castile Soaps tend to blend more easily with Essential Oils.  While most skin safe Essential Oils can be used to scent Liquid Castile Soap, we have found Lavender, Peppermint, and Lime Essential Oils to be our favorites.  Essential Oils can also be added to Liquid Castile Soap with the soap's purpose in mind.

• Tea Tree, Naiouli, and Citrus Essential Oils can be combined with Liquid Castile Soap to make an excellent dish washing soap. 
• Naiouli, Peppermint, and Lemongrass can be used to scent a Castile based foot scrub. 
• Lavender, Rosemary, and a few drops of Peppermint Essential Oil can be used to create an invigorating, all natural, Castile shampoo. (Make sure to accompany any Castile Shampoo with a vinegar rinse to remove any excess residue that Castile could leave behind.)

As always, be sure to take care with the dilution of the Essential Oils being used in your Liquid Castile Soap creations.  An overdose of Essential Oil in your shampoo, for example, could be very unpleasant, or even dangerous.  A good starting point for these kind of formulas is a usage rate of about 2 - 4 %.  However, some Essential Oils may require extra dilution. 

Comments

[Kim]

Hi,
can you add honey to your castile soap base and if so, how much you would recommend? I would like to create a honey hair and body wash with the castile soap and maybe some bitter almond (60/40) essential oils.

love to hear your thoughts

[Emmy]

Since Honey is water soluble it can be added easily to Liquid Castile Soap. This is often done for use in fresh formulas such as facials, cleansers, and more. Honey does contain natural antibiotic or antibacterial properties, but can still be prone to the growth of particular bacteria. Therefor, Honey must be treated as a fragile ingredient in terms of long time shelf life. An additional preservative may be required to account for the presence of honey if the product requires a stable shelf life.

Essential Oils can easily be added to Liquid Castile Soap. The Essential Oils can be added directly to the sopa and stirred in. Most Essential Oils can be added at between 2-4%, but refer to an Essential Oil guide to see the best percentage to use for a particular Essential Oil or application.

[Joanne]

I am looking to buy a liquid soap base or paste that will be crystal clear. Is this possible? I have seen one made with coconut oil as the main oil, and it was tinted a light clear pink with a seaweed extract. I want to make it for my skin care line. Do you sell something like this? or can you make it?

Thank you,
Joanne

[Emmy]

FromNatureWithLove.com carries several liquid soap bases. The closest to what you are looking for would be our Shea Butter Shower Gel or Shea Butter Bubble Bath Base. These soaps are transparent, but aren't what I would call "crystal clear". Alos, they do not contain any Seaweed Extract. They are, however, great bases. Both yield a high lather, and accept color and scent easily. You can learn more about these two bases here:

Shea Butter Bubble Bath:
http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/product.asp?product_id=basesheabubbth

Shea Butter Shower Gel:
http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/product.asp?product_id=basesheashwgl

You may also want to look into formulating a liquid soap from scratch to suit your needs. We have a great book on creating liquid soaps. You can find it here:
http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/bookstore/product.asp?product_id=bookliquid